In room babysitting while on ship excursion?

[angielane]

I read a couple threads about leaving your child at the Kids Club while at port...but what about in-room babysitting? Our infant will be one-year-old and not old enough for the program on our ship.

 

I'm assuming it's even possible to arrange in-room babysitting on port days...has anyone done this?

 

Do you think that the service is reliable enough to even book an excursion? I've heard that babysitting is subject to availability and might not happen, even if you reserve it.

 

I'm thinking of a 3-hour excursion on a 10 hour port day on RCCL....just long enough so DH and I can go see the Panama canal without DS in tow.

 

(FYI, I don't feel comfortable leaving him for the 6-hour excursion...but maybe I'd consider it for a shorter one, if it's possible...since we'll be docked at Colon and wouldn't otherwise get to see it)

[kitty9]

In cabin babysitting for a port day is difficult at best. There are many things that crew do on port days that they cannot do when at sea. Plus, if that's the day they have the crew drill, you will not be able to secure anyone. Then, many crew do have time off on port days, so having someone available could prove difficult. You can try, but don't count on it.

[boulders]

In cabin babysitting is NOT reliable enough to count on this. I would just take the one year old on the shore excursion. My kids have travelled since they were a few months old and they always loved seeing new things at that age.

[gerif]

Would you really feel comfortable leaving an infant on the ship for over three hours when the is no way for anyone to contact you in case of an emergency? In any event, as the previous poster stated, it's not likely you could secure a sitter and you wouldn't know until the last minute if you could.

[angielane]

I appreciate the responses! I thought maybe babysitting on port days would be more difficult.

 

Unfortunately, most of the excursions we are interested in have a minimum age of at least 2 in Colon. there's only one that doesn't, so that may be our only option.

 

I also thought to look at private tours - like my friend mario - to see if they have different options.

 

Any other suggestions?

[6rugrats]

I would highly recommend booking a private tour with a child of this age; that way you can see what you want and if your baby fusses or needs a break, it will be much easier.

 

Go to the Ports of Call section of this webpage and do some reading. You will see what other people or doing and it may give you some good ideas.

[milton333]

I believe that in-room babysitting on RCCL is for 2-hour maximum blocks of time.

[cruisead]

I believe that in-room babysitting on RCCL is for 2-hour maximum blocks of time.

 

That's not true. You can book for a larger block of time, as long as that person is available.

[SusieV]

I would NEVER leave my one year old son on ship and go to port. What if something happened in port and you missed the ship? Sometimes there are unforeseen complications.

 

I know some people leave their older children but I think leaving a toddler is crazy. Flame away.

 

I wouldn't take my toddler on a 6 hour excursion anyway, even a private tour. At one, they would like some of the spots you stop but that's a really, really long day for them. Why not just go for a walk around the port? Unfortunately things are different with little ones.

[angielane]

Thanks for the responses - very helpful!

 

FYI, we are planning to take it very easy on nearly all our ports...except we really want to see the Panama Canal... i know this is something we can accomplish, safely and happily for all of us.

 

RRCL excursions restrict children as young as 2...but it seems like My Friend Mario/private tour is a good option for us...

 

As for leaving my child, I leave him in daycare every day..and I'm not always instantly accessible if the provider were to call. When I was kid, there weren't even cell phones, and my parents left me all the time...regularly -- and totally -- inaccessible for more than 3 hours at a time... somehow I'm ok.

 

That said, I'm not saying I'd be TOTALLY comfortable with it...but, rather, OPEN TO EXPLORING IT....I appreciate all the responses...but I don't think it's "crazy" to think through all of our options.

[celle]

Thanks for the responses - very helpful!

 

FYI, we are planning to take it very easy on nearly all our ports...except we really want to see the Panama Canal... i know this is something we can accomplish, safely and happily for all of us.

 

RRCL excursions restrict children as young as 2...but it seems like My Friend Mario/private tour is a good option for us...

 

As for leaving my child, I leave him in daycare every day..and I'm not always instantly accessible if the provider were to call. When I was kid, there weren't even cell phones, and my parents left me all the time...regularly -- and totally -- inaccessible for more than 3 hours at a time... somehow I'm ok.

 

That said, I'm not saying I'd be TOTALLY comfortable with it...but, rather, OPEN TO EXPLORING IT....I appreciate all the responses...but I don't think it's "crazy" to think through all of our options.

 

You make a few good points, but I don't think you can compare leaving your child in daycare with leaving him on a ship.

 

In daycare, the same people look after him every day and he knows them. On a cruise ship, the babysitter will not be someone he knows, It will be someone who has another job on the ship and who babysits on her own time. Daycare staff are trained in childcare, while a babysitter on a ship almost certainly will not be.

 

Our granddaughter goes to daycare and loves it, too, but her parents would not leave her in the care of someone they had not met (and assessed) in advance. In your situation, they would either plan to take her on shore with them, or one of them would stay on the ship while the other did a tour.

 

You're obviously a concerned parent and it's good that you are thinking about this ahead of time.

[foxesden1]

My dd is 5 and in truth, I would not leave her with a babysitter on a cruise, let alone another country. nothing wrong with those who do, just not something I could do.

 

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[milton333]

FWIW, Royal Caribbean expressly allows you to leave your child in the nursery when you go ashore, see here: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2744979800106970757yKwRtp

 

It's a parental decision if you should, but it at least is possible on the RCCL ships with a nursery. Depending on the length of the excursion, the location (will cell phones be working?), and the operator (is it a cruise-lined booked excursion?), I personally don't think it's crazy to go ashore without the little one.

 

You're right that you leave them at daycare each day. I work 20 miles away from where my son is located in daycare, and live in "Tornado Alley," so there is a very real possibility of an emergency (weather or health) where I would be unable to respond for at least the 40+ minutes of commute time to get home, even if they could notify me. Leaving your little one on a ship equipped with staffers trained in first aid, and with a medical facility a few decks away, is probably safer than your child's normal daycare setup.

 

Agree that you need to be very sure you get back on the ship, though!

[CruiserInMD]

That's not true. You can book for a larger block of time, as long as that person is available.

 

I just cruised on the Enchantment and they DID have a maximum of 2 hours at a time, which obviously would not work for an excursion. The sitters were available for more time, but it was the cruise line's rule.

[CruisinIsMyThang]

I would suggest taking your child with you on the shore excursion. I think 3 hours is way too long to be gone without them being able to reach you. I mean when you are on the ship, you usually have a little pager that they give you if there is a problem, but ashore that's not the case. Get one of those "hiking metal framed carry a kid thingamigs" and strap him to your husband's back, and go see the Panama Canal together.

[bellezza28]

What about bringing grandma with you? Or if you are travelling with other people you know, how about if one of them could care for your baby for a few hours? We just got back from the Allure and they have a fully staffed nursery, nevertheless, we always took the kids with us to all the ports and couldn't do any excursions, but we expected that so that wasn't a problem. But in retrospect, it would have been nice to bring Grandma, if only for the times when we wanted to go out later at night (she couldn't have watched the kids while they slept) or we could have done an excursion at one of ports and would have felt more comfortable leaving the baby with my mom than at the nursery.